Hand weapon



Dec. 29 1925 R. B. LAWRENCE HAND WEAPON Filed Deo. 1, 1922 ze@ zlm WWMM y against large Patented Dec. 29, 1925. y

UNITED STATES PATENT oFFncE.

RUBEN B. LAWRENCE, OF BELLEVUE, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOB TO FEDERAL LAB- om'ronm's, mcoarom'rnn, or or DELAWARE.

PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, A COPORATION HAND WEAPON.

Application led December 1, 1922. Serial No. 604,450.

To all 'whom t may concern;

Be it known that I, RUBEN B. LAWRENCE, a resident of Bellevue, Allegheny County,

Pennsylvania, have invented a new and u se-l ful Improvement in Hand Weapons, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part ofvthis ecication.

l0 This invention relates to hand weapons, and more particularly to hand weapons which em lo an inca acitati gas.

` For olfdhsive or defgnsive irllsge in police work or the like, and more particularly gatherings, the ordinary weapons are either ineffective or too highly destructive to be used. I provide a Weapon which discharges an incapacitating gas,l

such as tear gas, thereby eifectually coping with the situation without loss of life, but

while I prefer to use a gas having only temporary effect, I do not limit my invention thereto, as lethal gases may be employed for use in more serious circumstances.

My weapon may be combined with an auxiliary weapon, such as a policemans club, thereby providing an officer with a double weapon in the same compass. I also provide for directing the emitted'gas, and have found by actual test that my invention is capable of discharging a stream vof incapacitatin gas for a distanceof fifty feet or more. his not only safeguards the user from the effect of the gas, but also enables him to use the weapon at a com` paratively long range, thus protecting him from assault. This feature of my invention is also useful against barricaded criminals, as has been shown by actual use, since the gas may be readily discharged through a keyhole or under a door.

In the accompanying drawings,` illustrating one embodiment of myinvention:

Figure l is a view, partlybroken away, showing my weapon embodied in a policemans club; l

. F igure2 isi'an enlarged view of a portionof Figure 1; A .y

5U- A Figure 3 is a sectional viewgshowing the 'means for .setting off the gas; and

Figure 4 is a vsectional view on the line IV- IV of Figure 3. n ln the illustrated embodiment of my invention, a policemans club having a handle 2, is provided with a hollow body or shaft 3, which is preferably of metal and of the same weight as the usual policemans club. The end of the body has a nozzle 4, through which the incapacitating gas is emitted.

The gas-emitting or generating device gonsists of a foraminous tube or cartridge 7 6. I prefer to use..a mixture of chloracetophenone and gunpowder for this purpose.

r`rChloracetophenone is -a crystalline solid which generates a very strong lachrymatory gas when heated. Upon ignition of the gunpowder, the heat of combustion quickly vaporizes the crystals and at the same time the gunpowder gives off a large quantity of vehicular gas, which furnishes suflicient pressure to discharge the mixture of gases through the nozzle 4 with great force and. carrying power. While it is preferred to use a solid gas-producing substance, a liquid may be used, enclosed, for example, in a glass vial to be ruptured by an explosive charge.

The gun owder `may be either ordinary black pow er or smokeless powder, but if the latter is used, it is preferably mixed with magnesium, oxide or some other inert substance to retard combustion.

The owder is ignited by a detonating cap. 7 at t e end of the tube 5. A striker 8 is provided for setting olf the ca and a primer of meal powder 9 is place behind the ycap to insure proper combustion when.`

the detonator is set olf. The striker 8 is provided with a in or trigger 10, which fits in a bayonet s ot`11. The normal posi Acontaining the gas-producing substance tion of the trigger is shown in Figures 2 and 4, with the striker-back from the detonator. When it is desired to set olf the gas, the user pushes the trigger over with his linger or thumb, and the spring l2 forces the striker against the detonator as shown by dotted lines in Figure 3.

To prevent accidental discharge, I pro- .vide a safety latch 13. This latch normal-l ly lies in the major portion of the bayonet slot 11, and prevents releasing of the trigger 10. When the. weaponis to be used,

the latch is lifted from the detent 14 by lthe users finger and is thrown to the dotted line position of Figure 3 by a spring 15, leaving the trigger free.

After the weapon has been discharged, the handle 2 may be unscrewed from the body 3 and' the empty tube 5 removed. A new tube or cartridge, with. its detonator and primer, may be inserted after pulling back the trigger. When the parts of the club are again screwed together, itis ready to be fired again.

The cartridge is carried near the handle of the club, so that it is not likely tosuffer from use of the club itself. The cartridge is embraced at its upper end by the handle 2 and is prevented fromlongitudinal movement by pins 16.

I have used the term hand weapon in this. specification and the appended claims as a term of general definition, and mean that it shall include any weapon which is under the control of the user at the time of discharge, as distinguished'from a grenade or a gas shell, for example, and while I have shown' one embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that 'it is not so limited, but may be embodied in other constructions within the scope of 'the following claims.

I claim:

1.A hand weapon, comprising means for emitting a stream of incapacitating gas, Simanually-controlled means for setting off the weapon, and means for rendering said manually controlled means inoperative when desired, substantially as described.

2'. The combination with a weapon for emitting a stream of incapacitating gas, of an auxiliary weapon, substantially as described.

3. The combination with a weapon for emitting a stream of incapacitating gas, of an auxiliary weapon, the pointing-of the auxiliary weapon being effective for directing. Y the emitted gas, 'substantially as described.

4. The combination with a policemans .club, of means for emitting a lstream of incapacitating gas, substantially as described.

5. A policemans club comprising a hollow body,a gas nozzletherein, a renewable device within the body adapted to generate an incapacitating gas whereby a stream of gas is emitted from the nozzle when the renewable device is set oli', and means for setting ofi' such device, substantially as described.

6. A policemans club comprising a hollow body having a ygas nozzle formed therein, .a gas emittingdevice within the body adapted to emit an incapacitating gas over a substantial time period, whereby a stream of gas is emitted from the nozzle, and means for setting of the gas emitting device, substantially as described.

7. A policemans club comprising a hollow body having a nozzletherein, a device within the 4body adapted togenerate an incapacitating gas when set off, whereby a stream of gas is emitted from the nozzle, means for setting off the gas emitting device, comprising a detonator and a striker therefor, and means vfor releasing the striker substantially as described.

8. A policemans club comprising a hollow body, a container-therein holding an incapacitating gas-producing substance and a material capable of self-supporting combustion,A and manually-operable means for igniting such material, substantially as described.

9. A policemans clubcomprising 'a hollow body, a nozzle at the end thereof, a container within the body containing a solid vaporizableincapacitating gas-producing substance and gunpowder, a detonator, a striker therefor, and a trigger adjacent the hand of the user for releasing the striker, substantially as described. f

10. A policemans club comprising a hollow body, a nozzle at the end thereof, a container within the body containing a solid vaporizable incapacitating gas-producing substance and gunpowder, a detonator, a striker, therefor, a trigger adjacent the hand of the user for releasing' the striker, and. means for retaining said trigger in inoperative position when desired' substantially as described.

11. A policemans club having a handle and a hollow body, ay gas cartridge within the club, means controlled from the handle of the club whereby the gas cartridge may be set oil", and .means for disassembling the lbody and the handle whereby the gas cartridge may be ,removed and a newone inserted, substantially as described.

12. A policemans club comprising a handle, a manually-controlled striker in the handle, a cartridge containing a gas-producing substance and a detonator removably mounted on the handle, and a hollow club shaft also removably mounted on the handle and fitting over the cartridge, substantially as described.

13. A policemans club comprising a handle, a spring-operated strikerin the handle, a trigger on'the handle adapted to be operated by the hand of the user, a cartridge containing a gas-producing substance and a detonator removably mounted on the handle, a hollow club shaft also removably mounted on the handle, and fitting over and enclosing the cartridge and having a gas-directing opening, substantially as described.

1-1. A. policemans club comprising a handle, a striker therein, a trigger controllin the striker and arranged to be operated by the hand of the user, a safety 4detent for preventing accidental operation of the trigger, a cartridge containinga detonator and a gas-producing substance removably mounted on the handle, and a "hollowA club 130 emitting device from the Walls of the hol- 10 10W body permitting free combustion over substantially the entire surface of the gas emitting device,` and means for igniting the combustible, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

RUBEN B. LAWRENCE. 

